Monessen City School Superintendent Robert Motte is faced with a dilemma.

Motte admits the district’s state test scores could use some improvement. On the 2024 Keystone Exams, 3% of the district’s students achieved a proficient or higher score in algebra 1. Students hitting that proficient or higher mark in biology and literature accounted for 10% and 26% of the district’s test takers, respectively.

“Our test scores are not very good,” he said. “I would say a lot of areas need improvement.”

But with an $18 million 2025-26 budget, already tightened by rising cyber charter and special education enrollment, the district has to figure out how to optimize student learning under financial constraints.

AI helps district rework curriculum

YourWay, an artificial intelligence platform, is one of the district’s solutions.

Motte has used the platform to create updated curriculum outlines aimed at helping teachers better prepare students for state tests.

The outlines, he said, show Pennsylvania’s education standards and questions that might be asked. They also provide guidance for teachers’ instructional strategies and in-class assessments.

The tool has helped Monessen work toward improving its performance on state tests without wasting district dollars or resources, Motte said. Through a partnership with River Valley School District, Monessen has free access to YourWay in exchange for providing feedback on the AI platform.

“I would say it’s probably taken me four or five days and I’m just about done,” Motte said, “whereas if I did this without AI, it would probably take me two or three years.”

‘We can’t teach like it’s 1985’

But not all of the district’s efforts to improve student learning have come free of charge.

Monessen started out by investing $13,000 in Yondr pouches — locked bags to hold students’ cellphones during the school day. The bags, meant to eliminate distractions in class, were put into use at the middle and high schools in 2024.

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The district this year invested in updated reading and math curricula at its elementary center — spending about $118,000 for five-year reading and one-year math programs that prioritize hands-on learning.

“What we had wasn’t working as well as it should have been, and we wanted to try something different,” Motte said. “We can’t teach like it’s 1985. We’re beyond the industrial age of schools. I think we’re now in the information age of schools, and we have to adapt to that.”

The district also is finalizing an $11 million renovation of its elementary, middle and high schools, he said.

Improvements include the addition of media centers to the elementary and high schools, a STEAM lab at the elementary school, a cybersecurity and eGames lab at the high school and music and TV production rooms in all three buildings.

The district took out a bond to pay for the project, Motte said.

“If (students) are interested to come here and learn about eGames,” he said, “maybe they will be interested in other subject areas.”

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